COVID-19

At least 5 seriously ill COVID-19 patients at hospitals and clinics in Alicante have been cured with the blood of those already recovered. Antibodies in the blood plasma of Spaniards who have recovered from coronavirus are being used to treat their seriously-ill compatriots across the province. The Sant Joan hospital – just off the N-332 driving south to Alicante city – was the first of 10 health centres to begin […]

London Heathrow Airport will this week begin trialling quarantine-free international flights to New York and Hong Kong. Passengers on United Airlines and Cathay Pacific flights have been given a new app that provides a certified negative COVID-19 test result. The app – called CommonPass – will function as a valid 'passport' for anyone who has recently tested negative for coronavirus. Non-profit trust Commons Project Foundation, part of the World Economic […]

Spanish airline Iberia has begun offering discount COVID-19 tests for passengers leaving Spain. Spain's flagship airline is now offering PCR tests from €98 and antibody tests from €50 with scheme partner Quirónprevención. Passengers can visit any of the nearest Quirónprevención clinics, who will provide an official test result to 'avoid quarantine' in relevant destinations. The standard PCR, carried out from Monday to Friday, has a price of €98. On Saturday, […]

A party at a Valencian university has led to the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in the region after 131 people have tested positive. 50 students attended the roof-top party last week at Valencia's Galileo Galilei college – in breach of strict COVID-19 rules and regulations. University sources said the students took advantage of 'low security' over the weekend to throw the party. Classes have since been suspended with 25,000 students affected. […]

Neither Bonfires nor Fallas nor Moors & Christians will light up town squares until a COVID-19 vaccine is found. The Valencian Community's health minister, Ana Barceló Chico, said traditional Hogueres, Moros y Cristianos and Falles events are impossible without COVID-19 vaccinations are in place. "I daren't say it, no, I daren't say it. But without a vaccine, we can't celebrate the Falles festival. We still aren't sure, we must be prudent, […]

The French government last night announced the lockdown of Paris and three surrounding regions to contain spiking COVID-19 cases. The capital will been on 'maximum alert' from Tuesday, when the government will order the closure of all bars and restrictive conditions on restaurants. Additional measures will ban events of more than 1,000 people, public gatherings of more than 10 people, gyms, and concert halls. Restrictive measures will be imposed on […]

Traffic jams have been recorded on roads to Alicante from Madrid hours before lockdown begins. Spain's traffic authority (DGT) registered traffic hold-ups on the A-3 roadway that leads to Murcia, Alicante and Valencia, as well as on motorways leading towards Andalucia in the south. The increased traffic began after 1pm today, when the DGT also announced two ring roads had 'collapsed' with traffic, and jams were noted jams on the […]

The health department of Denia has gone from having the worst COVID-19 caseload in the entire Valencian Community to the bottom of the list – in just two weeks. On 11th September, Denia led the list with 234 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over a 14-day period. Latest figures now show just 75 cases per 100,000. Denia's health department now sits at number 18 out of 22 health departments in the […]

Belgium has removed the Valencian Community from its travel quarantine list – the first of big tourism markets such as the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. The Belgian government announced this week both the Canary Islands and the Valencian Community (home to Benidorm) would be exempt from quarantine restrictions. Belgium has to date had one of the strictest quarantines on travellers from Spain, requiring them to quarantine and take a […]